1. Technology
Commercialization
Overview

2. Importance of technology
commercilaization

3. The management of
technology commercialization
• Successful technology commercialization
involves a formal management process that can:
• Ensure poor potential ideas killed rapidly
• Guide allocation of resources
• Increase likelihood of success for good ideas
• Requires understanding of technology, process,
market and people
• Follows a consistent process which can be
measured, studied and improved

4. From Stevens and Burley, 1997
Most ideas are not successful

5. Different definition of
commercial success
• Published research results allow rapid
technology adoption, deployment and impact
• Organizations freely embed solutions into their
current products or practices
• Technologies licensed to larger companies to
enhance current product/service portfolio
• Technologies used to form consulting or
technology service company
• Technologies become the basis of a new
technology venture

6. incorporation
from
often
premature
suffer
we
Alex ‘The Innographer’ Bruton…

7. We get stuck on a perspective
and find it difficult to change
• Have a narrow perspective on the problem we
are trying to solve
• Focus on technology (product) and not
solutions that technology allows us to offer
• Focus on features not benefits
• Focus on a limited market segment
• Don’t hear customer issues…and challenges
• Only consider a single path to market or a
single business model

8. Typical university view of
technology commercialization
Grant
application
Initial
research
Add’l
research
OTDC
Funding
• Research funded based of academic excellence
• Outcomes of research published
• OTDC patent technologies and seek global licensee
Funding
Funding
Funding

9. Changing view of
technology commercialization
Grant
application
Initial
research
Add’l
research
OTDC
Funding
• Research funding requires a market opportunity
• Research ends before commercialization begins
• OTDC explores licensing opportunities, as they are less
risky and require lower resources than new venture
creation
Funding
Funding
Funding

10. Lean view of technology
commercialization
Iterate
initial idea
Feasibility
study
Business
model
Business
plan
Reject
Reject
Reject
• Test opportunity (prototype) before undertaking
research
• Build voice of customer into development plan
• Identify viable business models that makes money
and addresses strategic objectives
• Develop business plan to create start up
Reject

11. Split up the process into a
series of go/no go decisions
Develop
value
proposition
Iterate to
create big
opportunity
Develop
revenue
model
Develop
business
model
• Evidence that value offered exceeds customer costs?
• Can value offered have impact & feasibility to be viable?
• Can you develop a revenue model that ensures
profitability and attracts customers
• Can you scale the business to be sustainable
Reject
Reject
Reject
Reject

12. Opportunity prototypes

13. Venture creation process